Founded and managed a document production consulting company, providing document production expertise to companies such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Advent, First Boston, and Kaset International.

A proven record of communicating effectively, working in diverse and fast-paced environments, meeting deadlines, and exceeding expectations.

Service Description

Certifications

Adobe

Adobe Certified FrameMaker Expert

Awarded: 1992

Adobe

Adobe Certified Training Provider

Awarded: 1992

Chauncey International

Certified Technical Trainer

Awarded: 1992

Education

Hillsdale College

Bachelor of Arts

- 1975

Employment

CTS Language Link

Freelance Production Editor

2012 - 2012

Converted documented from PDF to Word and FrameMaker, in preparation for translation.

Advent

Freelance Production Specialist

1994 - 2012

 Designed and built templates for customer-facing documents (reference guides, system requirements documents, training manuals, and quick-reference cards).
 Documented procedures for converting existing books and documents to the new templates.
 Reduced time required for template upgrades though the user of off-the-shelf conversion tools and researching, testing, and documenting processes.

VMware

Freelance Production Editor

2004 - 2011

 Sole responsibility for rebranding and converting documentation from acquired companies.
 Sole responsibility for checking accuracy and formatting during beta testing of FrameMaker to XMetal transition.
 Developed scripts to automate repetitive processes.
 Reduced time required for template upgrades though the use of off-the-shelf conversion tools and researching, testing, and documenting processes.
 Provided expertise in FrameMaker, Acrobat, Word, and publishing processes.
 Researched, tested, and documented internal processes for writers, editors, and production staff.

Federal Express

Template Builder

2010 - 2010

 Implemented new document design for internal processes.
 Made substantial modifications during several review cycles, improving both functionality and look and feel, and meeting the requirements of all stakeholders.

Apress

Production Manager/Compositor

2005 - 2006

 Planned and managed all phases of production (from raw manuscripts to final press files) for technical books in the Apress Beginning and Pro Series. Quickly became an expert on both series style and print requirements.
 Reviewed and corrected copy-edited files for styles.
 Ensured quality of content and accuracy of deadlines by coordinating with editors, authors, illustrators, indexers, technical reviewers, compositors, and print vendors.
 Converted Word files to FrameMaker templates, implemented reviewer comments, built books, generated smart files, and created press-ready PDFs on very aggressive schedules.
 Frequently modified existing templates for faster conversion turnarounds.

Peachpit Press

Production Editor

2004 - 2005

 Planned and managed production for 1-, 2-, and 4-color books in the Apple Pro Training, Apple Training, and Visual Quick Start series. Quickly became an expert on all three series style and print requirements.
 Contracted and trained compositors and indexers; managed schedules; reviewed page layouts, covers, and printer proofs; and implemented last-minute corrections and revisions.
 Coordinated comments and edits among authors, editors, and compositors.
 Ensured quality of content and accuracy of deadlines by coordinating with editors, authors, illustrators, indexers, technical reviewers, compositors, and print vendors.
 Led beta-testing of overseas compositing procedures.

Apple

Print Production Manager

2001 - 2004

Managed production of training materials delivered to a diverse customer base of end users, system administrators, and application developers. Supervised two production editors while coordinating with artists, editors, curriculum managers, instructors, course developers, product and project managers, and print vendors.
Productivity Gains
 Increased annual production from 6 manuals (1 per course) to 40+ for 14 courses. Contributed to this volume increase with improved workflow and more sophisticated use of existing tools.
 Increased output, quality, and efficiency by developing and documenting flexible, repeatable processes that were kept current on the department Wiki.
 Reduced lag time between product announcement and courseware readiness from 35 months to 4 weeks. Accomplished through templates and processes that accommodated multi-purposing of content and input from multiple authors, and increased process integration within the team.
 Reduced production editing time by 15% by moving select deliverables into preproduction and identifying tasks that can be done in parallel.
 Reduced writing and editing time by implementing conditional text, boilerplate text, and automatic updates to standard material.
 Authored writer and production guides. Updated them at each template upgrade, enabling formatting consistency among the writers and reducing the workload of the production team.
Cost Reductions
 Managed the transition to digital print-on-demand, significantly reduced printing cost. Time to first article inspection was reduced by 70%. Warehousing and onsite press checks were eliminated. WWCT was the first group at Apple to use digital technology for book publishing.
 Further reduced printing cost by performing preflight processes in-house.
 Eliminated the occurrence of PostScript/PDF errors at the press by researching and modifying PDF-generation processes and manipulating PDF files prior to vendor handoff.
Quality Improvements
 Increased student satisfaction and instructor effectiveness with the introduction of instructor materials and a book design that better supported the learning experience.
 Developed and delivered half-day training sessions, targeting the skills needed by course developers to use the templates efficiently.
 Developed production, preflight, and printer handoff processes that were also adopted by the AppleCare team.
 Set standards for quality and consistency by authoring production guides and co-authoring
WWCT Editorial Quick Reference Guide.
 Developed printing standards for outside vendors and reviewed the products to ensure quality and consistency.
 Received an Apple Impact award for the design and production of the companys first four-color book in over 20 years. The book was also recognized by the Society for Technical Communication in regional and international competition.
 Received an Apple Impact award for contributions to technical training course development.